Meeting Up With "Renovating Italy" Friends

Amazing how life, as it chugs along, seems to still go faster than I can keep up with. Although we work from home I am always baffled how the day can slip by and really all I seem to have accomplished is a number of replies to enquiries, sometimes quite involved replies, which may, or may not, turn into bookings and our daily nourishment.  To be honest I do spend a fair amount of time exploring and experimenting on new dishes and breads, usually in the vein of future possibilities for our guests or plain ole traveling by way of food from foreign places. It's all good, of course, but that "to do list" doesn't seem to be doing much shrinking.

Skipping down the path of whatever else comes along today,  I wanted to share a bit about our newish friends, the Chiodo family,  that are transplanted Australians to nearby Val Pellice.  Just over the tops of the peaks that we gaze at everyday, this family of four found a little slice of paradise and decide to work on a little "fixer up" of a home in in a small borgata towards the end of this historical valley that is called collectively along with our two valleys over here as the Valdesian or Waldensen valleys. I have written a bit about this history a few times so if you are interested you an find out more about that part of our history in the post previous to this one, here, and here also.  That of course is another story.

Our friends, Lisa, Sam, Carina and Luca are the heart and soul of their blog  "Renovating Italy"  that shares their journey through life which currently takes place just over the way from us. Follow the above highlighted link to their blog and go over and meet them.

I ran across them a few years back on my travels around the internet and was immediately drawn in by the title of their blog and Lisa's eye for beauty in old structures and objects that I have a fascination for as well. She really unearths a vast array of visual treats in her like and her digging around the internet as well. I casually followed along with them on their blog and Facebook page for awhile, enchanted by her photographic treasures and intrigued by their story. To my astonishment one day I came across a post of them mentioning that they had been to Pinerolo market. Hey, wait a minute, that's here. I quickly backtracked over their posts to discover that they had bought a property in Vall Pellice and where just starting to find their way around here. I couldn't wait to meet them.

The miracle of the internet never ceases to amaze me. I am able to talk with family and friends over the internet once I am able to coax them though the stages of how to set it up, as well as promote our mountaintop inn tucked into a part of the alps that not all that many people know about, as well as reconnect with childhood friends through the amazing social media called Facebook. I have also  come to "virtually" know a wide variety of people all over the world by exploring interests and meeting online friends as well as friends of friends and friends I have never met. Are you still with me?

Anyway, I contacted Lisa and it wasn't long before we were able to coax them over to visit with us last spring just before Easter.  It was still quite cold and during the winter months we tend to have most of our building shut down waiting for the warmer months and steadier stream of guests to arrive. We deified to fire up our pizza oven and make pizza with them as we know kids are always game for that. We had a great visit with them and enjoyed finally meeting our virtual acquaintances. What a delightful family and their enthusiasm for Italy in general and living a rural life quite different from they one in Melbourne, is quite infectious and admirable. I love listening to Lisa as she finds her way down the path of country life in which she embraces it all, good, surprising, sometimes disturbing, or discouraging but always fascinating as I read her missives. Sam has a great gusto for everything as well and the kids are charming and gutsy in a way that is really refreshing.

Now fast forward a few months and we finally get ourselves over to visit them in their home in our parallel valley. It s truly amazing to me that in some ways we are so close, as the crow flies, but when it really comes down to it, a visit over the ridge comes as a bit of journey. Never mind, it was a delightful day when we asked on short notice if they had time to visit with us and wouldn't you know it, they did, and we did. What a great spontaneous day of visiting we had. It was the tail end of the Christmas holidays, la Befana, so the kids were still out of school so we got to visit with the whole family.
What gracious hosts on such short notice. Sam cooked a wonderful carbonara, and some sausages and peas, while we had brought along a chocolate layered icebox cake that we devoured in spite of feeling pretty full from lunch.

Naturally, we need to have a look around and walk off some of the sluggishness of lunch, so we got the full tour of the borgata and neighboring houses and stream nearby. What a lovely spot and what work they have done to make an Italian nest for their family. They have by no means chosen the simplest of paths, but by far a most rewarding one, that they relish every step of the way. I love their "can do" spirit and grit along with their unflinching view of their new life in the country. Helping to kill and butcher the neighbors pig as well as having to light the burner to have a warm water shower and keep the fires going to make sure the family is warm, is not everybody's idea of a good time, but you would never know that from being with this family. I love how they embrace it all and share their journey with anyone who cares to travel along with them. I think one day we'll be reading a book about their journey, and I am so grateful to have shared a bit of their life on a few occasions. It's nice to hang out with positive people that you share similar interests and lifestyles. Too bad we are still separated by those big ole mountains, but then their is the power of the internet and that has made all the difference.
A very belated thank you Sam, Lisa, Luca and Carina, for a day well spent and a memorable friendship. Can't wait to see your place when it's all green again, which is something truly to look forward to!

"Lâ Calhëtta dë Prâl" a Valdesian Soup

Back to the Valdesians and eventually a soup recipe.
Our valleys have been referred to as the Waldensen valleys because at one point 97% of all Protestants of Italy ( they say it's about 70% now) resided in Pellice, Germansca and Chisone valleys with Val Pellice being the home of the governing body of the church and site of their university for many years before moving to Rome. The Chisone valley was divided by the river, with Protestants on one side which leads into the Germansca valley and Catholics on the other side of the valley and never the twain shall meet. Fortunately, time heals all wounds(at least so they say) and there really is peace in the valley today. Michelle of "Bleeding Espresso" left me a message about a village down in Calabria named "Guardia Piemontese" which is part of the same Protestant movement of the 12th century. Valdese, North Carolina, USA was founded in 1893, by a group of 11 Valdesian families who emigrated from the foothills here in the Cottian Alps to settle in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, when this area could no longer support the growing numbers of people. Historic Valdese, NC, has built upon their rich heritage and offer not only a wide variety of activities the have painstakingly reconstructed 15 buildings from Val Pellice in what they call "trail of Faith"
Others emigrated throughout Europe, South America, and other parts of the United States. We, in fact, hosted guests here at our Bella Baita Inn, this summer from Utah who were in quest of their family roots. They stayed with us during their exploration of the town of San Germano where Ronda Bonous's family had originated. San Germano is just a couple of villages down the valley from us and Fabrizio was able to facilitate them meeting with the mayor of San Germano and subsequently they met many helpful people in their quest for ancestry discovery. It was a fun adventure for everyone involved and lots of phone calls, translation, and running around the hills trying to locate towns, house, graveyards and distant cousins. We had fascinating daily updates of their progress. One other fun fact, was that Ronda's Uncle Junior Bonous, who had visited here years before is a world class skier and ski instructor. He was also an Olympic torch bearer for the Salt Lake City Olympics. They brought a fantastic DVD showcasing his skiing accomplishments and donated it to San Germano's Ski museum.

It was an interesting connection, since, we had the 2006 Winter Olympics here in our valley, of course. This past week we received a visit from the cousin of San Germano's mayor, who very kindly brought us a copy of a pictorial book of the Bonous-Crockett, summertime adventures in search of Ronda's heritage here and about the Waldensen history. What a delightful surprise. They certainly put a lot of effort into it and thoughtfully sent us a copy. I think they distributed a number of copies to their family and friends and very kindly recommended staying with us. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Ronda and Charles. We have so many interesting guests leading intriguing lives, that I could tell some tales, but I refrain form writing about our guests as I want to consider their privacy and would not mean to offend any one by admission or omission. I do think the Crocketts are happy for me to share their story and proud of their Waldensen/Valdesian heritage from Val Chisone.

The painted stones in the photo above are Valdesian women in traditional costume painted by a local Valdesian painter, Loredana Micol. Her depictions of village life and local costumes are charming and capture some of the local flavor.

Lâ Calhëtta dë Prâl recipe, (Patois dialect, which is different from Piemontese) is from a local collection of valley specialties. A flavorful broth with cabbage bundles, uses all the things you would find mid winter in your kitchen cupboard, sausage, farmers cheese, and savoy cabbage, ingredients most farmers would have put up for the winter. Add some crumbled grissini bread sticks, a Torino original creation, and found on most tables in this area and you have the makings of a simple filling meal. Perhaps many years ago they used hard bread instead of grissini, but I like the texture the grissini gives. The savoy cabbage is out of my little garden patch that is still under snow in spite of spring like weather, and always occupies a row in the family garden all winter for us and the chickens to make sure we have something green on the table.

Lâ Calhëtta dë Prâl

• 250 g grissini or other type of dry hard bread stick

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 75 g grated Toma, (staginata, aged) cheese (Parmesan or some other type of firm cheese)

• 1/2 - 1 cooked sausage, a mild and flavorful Italian style sausage

• Medium large Savoy cabbage or Swiss chard leaves, remove the hard stem, cutting up into the green leaving a v when removed.

• Good quality chicken or beef broth

• Makes about 8- 10 bundles depending on the size of leaves and amount of filling used.

Crumble the bread sticks, I did it by hand with a bit of pounding as I wanted some texture Add the crumbled cooked sausage. Then the beaten egg and mix thoroughly. Add a small amount of stock to moisten. Mix in the grated cheese. Let set for a while so the liquid absorbs and the bread sticks soften. Take several tablespoons of filling and squeeze into a oval. Place the filling towards the v at the bottom of the cabbage or chard leaf. Fold bottom up and roll slightly, fold both outer edges in and continue rolling up till it is a compact bundle. If you have some flexible long leek pieces, use them to tie up the bundle, otherwise use lengths of string. Simmer in your broth for about 1/2 hour. Serve with a grating or two of Parmesan on top. 
"*Encore Performance" I had several bundles left over and not enough broth. I removed the string and placed a bundle in a pounded flat turkey breast and rolled them up together. Secure with a toothpick this time. Lightly flour and saute the rolls in olive oil, onion, garlic and finish it off with white wine Simmer till the meat is cooked through and cook till the sauce reduces down and thickens. It doesn't take too long as your filling is already cooked. Serve whole or remove toothpick, slice into decorative rounds or halves. It was a wonderful "encore" performance. *Fun name for leftovers*

Waldensen or Valdesian Liberation Day February 17

The weather is foggy and damp and very fresh, as I've learned to say in these parts of the world. Not quite winter with the hope of spring dashed at the moment. My in-laws took one look at the black ice on the road and decided there were plenty of other things of interest to do around the house than negotiate all of our icy switch backs this morning. It might not be so lovely weather wise this morning, but it's a glorious day for celebration for a large portion of our Chisone, Germansca and neighboring Pellice valleys. It's the day that in 1848, the royal Savoy family issued the "Lettere Patenti", that finally guaranteed freedom of action and civil rights to Waldensens.
Who are the Waldensens and why they were they finally being granted basic human rights you might ask?

Our valleys are know as the Valdasian (Waldensen) because this is where Pietro Valdo(Peter Valdo)eventually came to reside along with his followers after being expelled from the Lyon area for his "heretical" views of the Roman Catholic church in 1177. The early protestant movement grew spreading throughout southern France and Northern Italy and beyond into Bohemia in spite of the Inquisition and being pushed further into hiding for their beliefs. These valleys were the stronghold of these resilient and resourceful people sometimes worshiping in caves such as Angrongna cave in Val Pellice to be able to sing hymns and worship together. For this they paid a high price in persecution. So when the decree for independence came they lit bonfires on the eve of 16 February in each of their villages up and down the valley to communicate that the long awaited liberation was at hand. Free to worship openly as they saw fit. Every February 16th the bonfires are lit once again, up and down our valleys with a display of fireworks to commemorate this momentous day. February 17th then finds the different congregations dressed in traditional costume of their village march with the local marching band to meet their neighbors and worship together that day. There are a variety of the carnival type pastries and cakes to share and much socializing whilst enjoying the sweetness of freedom to be had on this day. It's day to reflect on all that we so often take for granted. Even if the weather doesn't cooperate, the spirit still soars. The indulgence of sharing with your neighbors the simple pleasure of food and drink, out in the open, together in the center of your hometown. It's a pleasure worth commemorating every year no matter what the weather may do.

Tomorrow, I have a Valdesian dish to share with you. I think you'll find it a comforting treat.